


run(a)way

by jazzaiko



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Football, Dark, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, MAMA Era Powers (EXO), Music Video: Love Me Right (EXO)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:01:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28768233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jazzaiko/pseuds/jazzaiko
Summary: Is this a dream? Is he in an alternate universe? It’s impossible. Jongdae doesn’t believe in fiction and fantasy like that.Written for Tinysparks Round 12: EXO Universe
Relationships: Kim Jongdae | Chen/Kim Minseok | Xiumin
Comments: 15
Kudos: 34
Collections: Challenge #12 — EXO's Universe





	run(a)way

**Author's Note:**

> Based on EXO - Love Me Right music video. It is one of my favorite EXO title tracks, also one of the most intriguing and confusing MV since the scenes seem to be all over the place. This is my attempt to write a story based on it. Hope you enjoy it.

“Jongdae!”

The ball curves towards him. Immediately, Jongdae’s attention snaps wide awake, hands wide open. Once the rubbery material touches his hand earlier than the opponent, Jongdae immediately kickstarts towards the line on the other side. As he crosses the field, he can hear the jeers from the opponent supporters trying to distract him, but he is used to that. They still have some points to chase for their school team to win, he has to focus. Hearing cheers from his college mates at the side gives him strength. 

Suddenly, a big burly player stands on his path. Jongdae groans, tightening his hold. The ball is still safe in his arm and that’s what matters most, but his smaller body almost stumbles on his attempt to take a sharp turn.

A push from his other side helps him balance. “I got you,” Chanyeol whispers from under his helmet and proceeds to push against the opponent. Jongdae continues running. His speed causes his surroundings to blur, his teammates into flashes of dirtied white-red-black uniforms and the opponents into red-black ones. His lungs are about to explode and his legs aching, but Jongdae has to keep going. 

A little bit more.

From the corner of his eyes, Jongdae notices a shadow advancing his way. He tries to dodge but the opponent is too fast. 

Bam!

The impact from the collision sends Jongdae off-balance, and he feels his body hitting the ground.   
  
“Jongdae-ya?”

Someone is calling his name. He must get up, but somehow his body and eyes feel heavier than usual as if it weighs a ton. 

Come on. Wake up. Stand up. Get the ball to the goal, Jongdae tells himself.

After psyching himself up over and over, he manages to open his eyes, the darkness subsiding from his vision. Jongdae finds himself lying on his side on the grass. Not those green, well-trimmed grass, but tall, unkempt grass and flowers. He can also roughly make out tall, looming dark shadows around him. 

No football field has flowers and trees. Where is he?

“Jongdae-ya?” 

Jongdae searches for the familiar voice that doesn’t sound too far away, slowly turns his body around. His eyes meet with a pair of large cat-like eyes on a youthful face, his body looming over Jongdae.

“Minseok-hyung?”

Minseok’s worried face relaxes, his mouth curves into a relieved smile. “Thank goodness you’re finally awake, Jongdae-ya.” Jongdae too heaves a sigh of relief, glad to have someone he knows with him.

Although he recognizes Minseok, Jongdae notices that the helmet is missing from the other’s head. The gear, padding, and team uniform are nowhere to be seen on his body, instead, he's wearing a plain white shirt, all too clean. Jongdae doesn’t think he is knocked out  _ that _ long, but he should have woken up in the campus infirmary instead of being surrounded by grass and trees. Weird. Regardless, Jongdae tries asking, “What about the match? Did we win?” 

Minseok’s eyebrows lift up, his expression twists into confusion. “What match? There was no match, Jongdae.”

“How…” Panic starts to build in his heart. There is no way Minseok didn’t know about the match. Minseok was right there, on the field with Jongdae too. He is Jongdae’s favorite person, smart and kind and beautiful. It’s no secret that Jongdae has a crush on his senior and joined the football team to get closer to him. Although, Jongdae starts questioning: why does this Minseok look like the Minseok he knows, but at the same time it feels like he isn't? 

Jongdae looks down and to his surprise, his outfit changes too. “What happened?” Jongdae asks again. His hands wander on the dark blue t-shirt, his pants, even pinching his forearm, trying to find something,  _ anything _ to anchor him back to a reality he knows. 

Is this a dream? Is he in an alternate universe? It’s impossible. Jongdae doesn’t believe in fiction and fantasy like that. 

“Jongdae. Tell me what you remembered.” 

Still bewildered, Jongdae proceeds to tell Minseok about studying on campus and being classmates with Chanyeol, Baekhyun, and Kyungsoo, about the football team, the match… but as he continues talking, for some reason his memories get hazier and hazier. 

“I see... Do you remember anything from before your college days?” 

Jongdae tries hard to rack his brain. By right, he should be able to recall his childhood days since Baekhyun claimed they have been friends since they were in diapers. Or maybe a little about his family. But he can’t find anything. 

“What is going on?” Jongdae groans, exasperated. “Why can’t I recall anything?”

“Look around you.”

Jongdae looks up, and only then did he realize that he and Minseok are surrounded by transparent walls, not glass, because the surface is cold and slippery when Jongdae puts his hand on it. Jongdae sees puffs of thick, pink smoke outside the walls. Smoke shouldn’t look like that. 

“See that smoke? It causes us to hallucinate, to dream of a different reality.”

“But why? I don’t understand.” 

“The Red Force. Remember Jongdae, please.” 

Slowly, bits and pieces of his memories are coming back. As he ponders over the weird scars all over his arms and on Minseok’s, he realizes those are not scars from football practice, those are remnants of what has been done to them, the nine of them, just because they are different. They had enough, so they escaped the facility. 

“Hyung. Where are the rest?” 

“I don’t know. I ran with you and we arrived at this weird forest.” 

“We need to reunite. We need to get out of here.” 

Once Minseok dispels the ice walls, Jongdae kickstarts, making their way out of the forest. He hates to have to run again in this reality. But with Minseok’s hand in his, at least he is not alone in his journey, even if they have to run into the starlight.


End file.
